In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems have been deployed onboard aircraft to provide entertainment, such as movies, television, audio entertainment programming, electronic games, and other electronic content to passengers. IFE systems are increasingly using wireless access points to provide the electronic content from a content server to passenger equipment carried on-board (e.g., cellular phones, tablet computers, laptop computers), seat video display units (SVDUs), and other communication terminals within the aircraft. Some IFE systems provide passenger control units (PCUs) at passenger seats that are wirelessly linked to the seats' SVDUs, and which can be held by passengers and operated to control content selection and playback through the SVDUs. These wireless communications are typically performed within the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio band.
The proliferation of such wireless equipment operating simultaneously and with unsynchronized use of the ISM radio resources within an aircraft cabin, can result in levels of communication interference that degrade or intermittently prevent operation of the IFE system. For example, hundreds of SVDU wireless transceivers and corresponding PCU wireless transceivers can be simultaneously interfering with each other's communications. Moreover, communications by these wireless transceivers would likely interfere with and be interfered with by the operation of wireless transceivers within hundreds of passengers' equipment.
The wireless transceivers are typically programmed to respond to degradation of their communication link quality by increasing their transmission power level. However, these operations can result in a rapid escalation of the signal noise floor within the cabin and further degrade or intermittently prevent operation of the IFE system.